A true friend is someone with whom you can be yourself, and with whom you can freely discuss your dreams, aspirations.

What is a friend

A true friend is someone with who you can be yourself, and with who you can freely discuss your dreams, aspirations, sorrows and problems. Your friends encourage you to grow as a person, and you can learn a lot from them.

Most people restrict the word friend to just those people they develop a friendship with. I don't quite think like that. According to me each person we meet is a friend in some way or another. We come across all kinds of people: bad, good, generous, selfish, kind, cruel, optimistic, pessimistic, and downright evil. We have something to learn from each of these people.

Enemies/Rivals:

We have to compete with our rivals, and we all know that competition brings out the best in a person. Our own weaknesses and strengths come to the fore. We develop personality. Isn't that what a friend helps us do? So from this angle, I classify even my enemy as a friend a friend in disguise.

Selfish Friends:

Our selfish friends take us for granted. They look out for their needs first, and our needs last. Some friends may even try to cheat us. From them, we learn that we should always be on our toes and have our wits about us, and will thus develop all-round maturity.

True friends:

Someone rightly said, Good friends are like Viagra, they lift you up when you are down. Good friends offer us a shoulder to cry on, and are by our side in good times and in bad times. Cherish good friends, because they are hard to come by. In friendship, it's quality that matters, and not quantity. There's no point in having numerous friends if they don't stand by us in times of crisis.

Wife:

Our wives are going to be by our side for a large part of our lives, and should be considered to be a special friend. While we may be separated from other friends by geographical if not emotional distance, our wives are always right by our side.

Children:

To be a good parent, it is imperative to be a good friend to our children. You will find that your children are more open to discussing matters close to their heart with you. They will not feel the need to lie to you, just as one does not feel the need to lie to one's best friend.

Parents:

Parents are our well wishers and want the best for us, always. This does not change over time or over miles. They are in fact the truest friends we could ever have asked for, and it is a shame if we don't realise that until it is too late. They always have your best interest at heart, and will pray for you and your success like no one else.